Romance, Family, and Pranking, Oh My!
by 09Lakersluva24
Summary: Sequel to Let's Talk, Okay?, this consists of a series of one shots that tell the story of the Autobots and their human friends. From the romantic journey of Arcee and Bee, the pranks of the twins, Ratchet's own attempts at love, and more!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters. I don't own _Transformers_.

Note: Well, here's the first chapter! I decided to begin with an Arcee and Bumblebee chapter. This occurs after the first Valentine's Day with the humans but before the arrival of the new Autobots in chapter 7 of _Let's Talk, Okay?_

_Note: Any lines in italics are supposed to be the translations of Bumblebee's beeping and chirping. _

Note: For anyone who is reading this as the first story from me, I would highly recommend reading Let's Talk, Okay? This is a sequel of some sorts to that story.

Enjoy! And please review!

Note: I am finding difficulty finding ideas for these one shots lately. Suggestions are welcome!

…

Chapter 1: The First Fight

It was an abnormally quiet day at the Autobot base. And that was certainly saying something since Miko was at the Autobot base that day. Ratchet was busy keeping an eye on the computers and on the three children left in his care: Jack, Miko, and Raf. He sighed, at least they were behaving. And he would never say it; they weren't too bad to have around. But he would never admit he was fond of the children. This was Ratchet; he didn't do friendship and family very much.

He was the only Autobot at the base; Optimus and the others had been sent to investigate Decepticon activity in the area. The children were all busy working on homework or reading.

Ratchet looked over at the children then turned back to his work. That was until Optimus contacted him.

"Ratchet, we need a ground bridge, immediately," Optimus stated with the slightest hint of anxiety.

Ratchet knew that phrase and tone only too well.

"Which one of you decided it was okay to be reckless today?" Ratchet demanded angrily.

There was a moment's pause and a sigh before the Autobot leader responded.

"Bumblebee is leaking energon and took some heavy fire in our battle," Optimus answered.

"Didn't that fragging idiot know to utilize the speed he was gifted with?" Ratchet muttered as he turned on the bridge and held a wrench at the ready.

Raf and Jack looked up from their schoolwork and their eyes widened at the wrench. Then they looked at eachother worriedly as Miko also lifted her eyes and gazed at the Autobot medic's weapon of choice when dealing with his own patients.

Having only heard some of Ratchet's side of the conversation, the children sat wondering who the unlucky Bot was going to be.

They all shuddered at the thought at being at Ratchet's mercy.

The ground bridge opened and in walked in Optimus and Bulkhead who were both assisting a stumbling Bumblebee across the base.

Raf gasped as he got a closer look at his guardian.

Bumblebee was leaking energon in at least five different places, and his upper body was covered with deep scratches and dents. Most worrying was the fact that a decent amount of energon was leaking from the Autobot's chassis dangerously close to his spark chamber.

Raf and the other two kids ran over to them just as Arcee came out of the bridge.

Raf looked up worriedly at his guardian who attempted to reassure him with a series of beeps and clicks that Jack and Miko guessed were denials and lies about him being fine.

"Don't you dare lie to him, Bee! You're leaking energon in several places! That definitely does not match the description of 'fine'!" Arcee snapped as she halted beside Bee, her faceplate furious.

The children shrank back at this outburst. Before the yellow scout could say anything to his partner, she continued in this explosive manner.

"You want the boy to think you're fine? There is every reason for the boy to know how much of a fragging idiot you are! I don't need you to go all hero on me! I can take care of myself, Bee! What you did today was stupid and reckless!"

The others stared silently; figuring that it would do them little good to anger the female Autobot any more than she already was with her partner. And luckily, the two didn't seem to remember that they were fighting in front of everyone at the Autobot base.

Bee tried to placate her, but she turned on her heal and stomped away.

Bumblebee made to follow her but a servo roughly grabbed his free on and dragged him off. Bee frantically beeped excuses and pleaded for the Autobot medic to be gentler with him.

Ratchet turned his optics coldly at the Autobot scout and merely replied, "Gentle? Ha, I've never been the word."

And with that Ratchet slammed his wrench on Bee's helm.

The others heard Bumblebee's yelps of pain and his beeps for help. Finally, silence filled the Autobot base.

Too quiet for any of their tastes.

"Shouldn't we do something about Ratchet? Bumblebee seemed to have been terrified," Jack began.

"No, Bumblebee will be fine in Ratchet's rough yet experienced servos," Optimus replied.

They stood in silence until finally Miko burst out, "Well, Arcee and Bee's first fight as a couple was entertaining."

Jack nodded thoughtfully as Raf was standing worried about his friend.

"Looks like Arcee doesn't like her boyfriends to fight her battles for her?" Jack remarked lightly.

Optimus turned seriously to Jack, "I'm afraid it is more than that."

The three children looked up questionably to the Autobot leader.

"Bumblebee knows better than anyone that Arcee can take care of herself," Bulkhead added.

Optimus nodded and stated, "He was simply doing what he should have done for any teammate. Arcee would not have been quick enough to notice the attack. Nor would she have been able to fight both sides. The truth is that Arcee was upset because Bumblebee placed himself in danger. "

There followed a silence before Raf spoke up.

"So Arcee doesn't care that she was saved by Bee, she's upset that Bee put his life on the line for her," he commented.

Optimus nodded, "Arcee couldn't cope with the fact that Bumblebee could have died. When she caught sight of the leaking energon, she froze up."

Bulkhead stepped in to add, "Yeah, and she wouldn't respond to any of us for a good five minutes. It wasn't until I shook her by her shoulders and Bumblebee called out her name ten times that her optics finally focused on us again."

Optimus frowned sadly as he nodded in confirmation.

The children were shocked; they didn't think Arcee would handle a little energon that badly.

"Wow, she really is afraid that Bumblebe will go like Cliffjumper and Tailgate," Jack remarked as the others nodded slowly, "Should we talk to her?"

"No, Arcee needs to be left to her own thoughts before she realizes the reasoning behind her outburst. She will then return of her own accord," Optimus wisely stated.

…..

A half an hour later and everyone was quietly working on either homework or datapads on the latest Decepticon attack. Bumblebee was quietly; probably recharging on the hospital berth while Ratchet was typing on the computer with an irritated look on his face.

Suddenly, loud footsteps were heard coming from the hallway. The Autobots and the humans looked up to see a subdued Arcee storming across the room, clearly with a purpose in mind. She nodded towards them and then turned towards the where the hospital berth was in a separated corner. Ratchet noticed her direction and followed her with his lucky wrench in hand.

The others smirked and sighed happily; Arcee and Bumblebee's first fight wasn't going to end in their breakup. Of course, Ratchet wouldn't be happy about that.

Arcee approached the hospital berth. Her optics caught onto the peaceful figure recharging on the berth; her partner. He was quietly recharging. As she neared the berth, her optics roamed across his injured chassis. She let out a relieved sigh when she noted that his leaks had been halted.

She smiled softly and reached for his faceplate.

Suddenly, a wrench slapped her servo away. She grunted in pain and the raised her optics and mustered a glare that would have scared most Decepticons away. This furious expression was directed to the practically unfeeling Autobot medic who was glaring back with a wrench in his servo.

"My patient needs to rest; not have his partner interrupt his peace!" Ratchet snapped loudly.

Arcee gave him a seething glare and opened her mouthplates to respond when a large, comforting servo grabbed her injured one. She halted her anger and glanced down at the interruption. Her fully awake partner was staring up at her thoughtfully.

Ratchet grumbled as Bee turned to the medic and promised that he would slip back into recharge after five minutes with Arcee.

Irritated, Ratchet stomped out, but not before waving his wrench threateningly at the both of them.

The two partners chuckled slightly as Bumblebee propped himself up on the berth and gestured for Arcee to sit on the side of the servo. She sat down and held his servo in his; and began examining it, feeling too ashamed to look her partner in the optics.

Finally, she found the words to say.

"Bee, it was wrong of me to…," she began hesitantly.

_"No, I should be the one to apologize. I know you can take care of yourself. I just didn't want to see you hurt and I was worried at the time that you wouldn't be able to react in time. But I should have realized that you would have been able to take them down by yourself,"_ he interrupted gently through soft clicks and beeps.

"I know. Bee, I wasn't actually upset about that," she responded before averting her optic from his.

He looked curiously at her; then his optics widened as he was slowly realizing the truth behind their first fight.

Arcee felt a large servo on her faceplate as it gently lifted her faceplate up to face his. His optics were kind and gentle as he beeped to her.

_"Our fight was not due to my protecting you was it?"_ he stated quietly.

The female Autobot shook her head slowly and once again attempted to look away from his optics.

She heard him sigh before he began to say, _"I'll always be there. No one is going to take me away from you."_

Arcee brought her optics up to his and demanded, "How can you be so sure, Bee?"

"Well, I am the best Autobot scout out there," he boasted and he pointed to himself with his free servo.

She returned his silly joke with a less than amused expression on her faceplates.

His faceplate's expression became more serious as he added, _"No matter what happens, we'll always have each other. And if one day the Decepticons manage to kill our best scout," Arcee raised an eyebrow at her partner, "I'll still be here in your spark. Just like Cliff and Tailgate are."_

Arcee stared at the yellow scout and commented, "Wow, Bee, since when did you become so wise? I almost mistook you for Optimus."

He shrugged and responded, _"One those cartoon movies Raf likes to watch with me gave me this idea."_

His blue partner smiled.

Bumblebee then demanded softly, _"No matter what happens, Arcee, let me go. Don't live your life trying to avenge my death. Enjoy your life, promise me."_

Arcee hesitated but the pleading look on his faceplate and his sweet optics convinced her.

"I promise," she stated at last.

Bumblebee smiled gratefully and leaned down to kiss her on the forehead of her faceplate.

_"Good. I love you, Arcee." _

Her optics widened; this was the first time she had ever heard those three words coming out of the yellow Autobot's mouthplates since they had decided to become partners.

"Bee, I…," she began but then stopped as he leaned forward and brought his helm closer to hers.

She brought her helm closer to his, preparing for the inevitable kiss.

Only a little farther and the two would have remembered this experience as being their first kiss together.

Just as their helms neared, a wrench flew towards them.

The two partners snapped upright to avoid a collision as the Autobot medic marched angrily towards them.

"I told you he needed rest, you can kiss him later!" he snapped as he grabbed Arcee by the shoulders and maneuvered her out of the area.

Bumblebee chuckled as his partner was dragged away by the Autobot medic. Arcee followed reluctantly but not before turning her faceplate towards the yellow scout and sending him a mental message, _"I love you too."_

She smiled as Bumblebee's optics danced with glee.

He waved her away happily.

Arcee then turned towards an irritated Ratchet, who was grumbling quietly.

She then broke away from the medic's hold and began strutting away, already planning her revenge for Ratchet's intrusion.

But first, she was going to relive those three words again and again.

Their first fight had led to these three words, she mused.

Maybe life was finally turning up for her.

…

Note: Well, I hope you enjoyed this first chapter!

Please review!


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own _Transformers_. I don't own any of the characters.

Note: Here's chapter 2!

Note: This is Ratchet and Red Alert's first date on Valentine's Day from the epilogue in _Let's Talk, Okay?_

Enjoy!

Please Review!

…...

Chapter: Doctor Love

"You have a beautiful female doctor at your side, make plans," June Darby stated to an irritated Ratchet.

Ratchet's optics widened and he turned his helm sharply to the female medic of the Autobots. She was staring at him curiously, but once she noticed his gaze, she shot her head back down to her work.

Frag, he cursed to himself.

He looked back to see June's retreat and felt his irritation grow at his human friend. He knew she meant well, but her meddling was troublesome and was getting out of hand. This was especially the case when she introduced Valentine's Day to the twins who decided to turn the holiday into a celebration of their brotherhood by tormenting everyone with a massive array of new pranks and jokes.

He shook his helm crossly.

Returning to the matter at hand, he began to list his options.

How to get out of this awkward situation with his reputation intact?

On one servo, he could ignore June's comment and quietly return to his life. He could just act like it never happened, like it was some kind of joke the twins had made up. But then Red Alert would either question him further about it or possibly be insulted with his lack of response.

But at the same time, he couldn't possibly address the comments; he had a reputation to upkeep! He couldn't "go out" like Bumblebee and Arcee did!

Or could he?

What harm would it do to have an outing with a coworker, one who happened to be an attractive one of the opposite gender?

And when was the last time he had even gone out with a female Autobot?

Never.

And maybe, just maybe, June was right. Perhaps, even with the war raging on, he could still regain lost time.

Maybe it wasn't too late for him.

He sighed and then turned to the female medic who was typing notes onto a data[ad.

"Medic Red Alert," he called quietly.

She raised her helm and his optics met hers.

Funny, he had never noticed how beautiful her optics looked on her; intelligent, strong, and could turn irritated at an antic the twins pulled…

"Yes, Medic Ratchet," she answered in her smooth voice.

Frag, he thought as he halted his inner ramblings and focused on her inquiring optics.

"I think we've done enough research for today, why don't we go out for a drive. It's an unusually nice day, why not enjoy it," he offered in his even voice, hiding his nervous tone inside.

A rather long pause followed.

Well, to Ratchet, it felt that way.

It felt like he was youngling again, waiting for her answer.

And he wasn't so sure he liked feeling that way.

"I'd love to, Ratceht," she responded with a smile.

Ratchet was surprised, but then he smiled in return and helped her put away their equipment.

…

A few awkward minutes later and Ratchet was in his vehicle mode cruising the dirt roads of Nevada with a red and white motorcycle.

They rode in silence.

After about ten minutes of this, Ratchet became slightly worried. The female medic had said nothing to him the whole trip. Granted, he hadn't been able to say anything either.

But what could he say?

He inwardly groaned as he realized that he had no idea what to do or say on a "date".

And as much as he hated to admit it, he needed help.

Quickly, he began listing Autobots he could contact.

_Optimus?_

_ No, he's off with Elita for the day._

_ Prowl?_

_ He'd be of no use._

_ Ironhide?_

_ Out with Chromia and I definitely do not think the trigger happy Autobot would of any help either._

_ Bulkhead?_

_ He has no clue about the word "romantic" let alone how to be it._

_ Mirage._

_ He only understands two concepts, he exists in this world and he's hot._

_Jazz?_

_No, he would probably just suggest a musical approach._

_The Twins?_

_Definitely not._

_That only left one Autobot male_, Ratchet decided.

_Bumblebee._

Ignoring the fact that the yellow scout was currently on a date with his partner, Arcee, Ratchet contacted Bumblebee through the radio links.

_"Bumblebee?"_ Ratchet called out quickly.

_"Ratchet, I'm kind of in the middle of a date with Arcee,"_ the scout replied slightly annoyed.

_"I need help,"_ Ratchet muttered through the connection.

He swore he could hear sputtering.

_"You need help! With what?"_ Bumblebee asked surprised.

_"I am currently on an outing with Red Alert, and I needed to know what I should do to make this a successful outing,"_ Ratchet explained.

_"So, you're on a date, and you have no idea what to do,"_ the yellow scout stated slowly.

_"I merely wish to know how to keep her interested and comfortable. I feel that this silence between us is making her feel uncomfortable."_

But the scout didn't seem to be listening; instead he stated slowly, _"You're on a date."_

_"Yes, I am,"_ Ratchet responded irritated.

_"You. Are. On. A. Date,"_ Bumblebee stated even more slowly.

_"I think we've already established that! Can we please move on?"_ the medic stated exasperatedly.

_"Right, sorry,"_ Bumblebee sheepishly apologized.

Ratchet grumbled in response.

_"So, you have a crush on the female medic?"_ Bumblebee questioned smugly.

_"No, I find her qualities to be attractive,"_ Ratchet defended.

_"You think she's hot,"_ Bumblebee pointed out.

_"And intelligent!"_ Ratchet added defensively.

_"All right, don't get defensive,"_ Bumblebee stated quickly, _"I'll help."_

Ratchet sighed in relief.

_"Right after I tell Arcee,"_ Bumblebee finished mischievously.

_"If you tell her, I will…,"_ Ratchet warned.

_"Too late!"_ Bumblebee responded, the mirth clear from his message.

He was enjoying this a little too much.

Ratchet heard Bumblebee explain his situation to Arcee, and he could have sworn the female Autobot was chuckling from the other end of this communication link.

_"So, Ratchet, what is it you need?" _she questioned amused.

_"He doesn't know how to make small talk, how to plan a date, or how to date," _Bumblebee offered his diagnosis of the Autobot medic.

Arcee snickered as her partner followed suit with his own beeps of laughter.

When he got his servos on the scout, he was going to…

_"This is Ratchet we're talking about, he is kind of hopeless. No offense, Ratchet. Maybe we should call June,"_ Bumblebee stated as he became serious.

Ratchet grumbled.

_"No, she's busy at work,"_ Arcee replied thoughtfully.

_"Well, what now?"_ her partner questioned.

The two fell silent on the other line as they pondered what to do.

Ratchet waited impatiently.

_"Hurry, before she notices!"_ he snapped.

_"Okay, okay, don't get so worked up,"_ Bumblebee answered as he attempted to calm the medic down.

_"Ratchet, I know this might be the stupidest advice I ever give you, but just be yourself. She's going to need to like you for you, as bad as you really are,"_ Arcee finally stated.

Silence from both ends was her response.

_"Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt. I mean, you have nothing to lose, right?"_ Bumblebee offered nicely.

Ratchet murmured a sarcastic reply, _"You two were oh so helpful. Thanks."_

_"You're welcome!"_ Bumblebee responded brightly.

Sarcasm was a foreign language to the scout, wasn't it?

_"You two kids make sure to have some fun, okay?" _Arcee joked before cutting the line.

Ratchet swore he would have his revenge.

"Ratchet?" a voice called out.

He recognized the voice as being that of Red Alert.

"Sorry, just thinking," he replied quickly.

"I know. The synthetic energon is just so fascinating isn't it?" she asked from her radio.

"Yes, it is," Ratchet responded.

And with that, a bond was formed.

They continued their conversation for the duration of the drive. The two discussed everything from Cybertronion medicine to the Earth and its inhabitants.

In the end, science became their source for small talk. It brought the two together, closer than they had even thought they would be to the other. And Ratchet found himself enjoying her conversation and company greatly; it was refreshing to talk to an Autobot who was interested in the same topics he was.

As they discussed the makeup of the earth, Ratchet suggested they drive to a gorge where stone layers in the Earth could be observed. Red Alert readily agreed and the two cruised over to the rocky terrain outside of Jasper, Nevada.

They arrived at the edge of the cliff and transformed into their robotic forms. Red Alert wandered to the edge of the cliff and pointed out the ages of the different rock formations. She thought it was interesting how young the Earth was compared to their home planet.

Ratchet nodded in agreement as he observed her intelligent optics taking in everything around her. It was almost as if her optics were taking survey from every inch of this are. And who says they weren't?

"And look at this," she stated as she pointed out the age of the older layers of the rocks.

She stepped forward and lost her footing on the cliff. The female Autobot began to slip off the edge of the rock if it wasn't for a surprisingly strong servo pulling her back. Ratchet pulled her to him and pulled her back from the edge of the cliff.

Red Alert, embarrassed, regained her footing and quickly stated, "Thank you."

"You should have been more careful, you could have hurt yourself," Ratchet chided surprisingly gently.

"You are right, of course," she agreed.

It was then that they noticed that his servo was still tightly holding hers.

Red Alert raised her optics up and gazed into Ratchet's optics.

Time seemed to freeze for a moment as the two Autobot medics stared intently into each other's optics, as if to decipher what the other was feeling inside.

And just like that, the moment was broken.

Two objects zoomed by.

Two corvette twins.

"Hey Doctor Love!" they chanted as they raced by the two medics.

Ratchet and Red Alert broke apart quickly and glared at the retreating figures of the twins.

They were so going to be off lined, the two medics decided.

…...

The two Autobot medics returned to the base shortly after. Driving through the entrance of the base, Red Alert suddenly halted and transformed into her robotic form.

Worried by this sudden action, Ratchet followed suit and approached her.

"Red Alert, are you all right?" he asked worriedly as he placed his servo on her shoulder.

"I am fine, Ratchet. I just wanted to tell you that I enjoyed this outing. I just didn't want the others spying on us," she reassured as she gave him a small smile.

"I enjoyed it too," he responded softly.

Silence followed.

"Well, we have work to get back to," Red Alert stated quickly.

"Yes, let's get started on that, shall we?" he asked her.

She nodded and they turned to walk towards the Autobot main room.

Before reaching the room, Red Alert turned quickly to Ratchet. Ratchet stared at her curiously as she approached him and kissed him softly on the cheek of his faceplate.

"Thank you again, for today," she stated somewhat quietly before turning and heading towards her work bench.

Reaching his servo to his cheek, Ratchet merely replied, "Thank you."

…...

Note: I hope you enjoy!

Please review!


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own _Transformers_. I don't own any of the characters.

Note: I was thinking about writing this one shot ever since watching the final episode of the first season of Transformers Prime, which was so awesome! This is supposed to be during the final moments of the last episode of the finale with all the new Autobots included. This begins just as Optimus and Megatron separated from the others. This one focuses more on Elita.

This one's a little angsty!

Enjoy! And please review!

…

Chapter 3: Gone

Elita blasted another of the Unicron anti-bodies and then turned to blast another coming towards her. After finsihging off those two, she spun around and expertly shot three in the air.

Her teammate beside her, Chromia, grinned, "Want to make this a contest, Elita?"

Elita barely turned to the light blue female as she replied, "I hardly think now is the time for games, Chromia."

Chromia shrugged as she blasted four of the anti-bodies out of the air and kicked one coming towards her. She then turned to her sparkmate, grinning, "What about you Ironhide? Are you up for a challenge?"

He grinned as he knocked out five in one blow, "You sure, Mia? You are dealing with the weapons master?"

His sparkmate rolled her optics before shooting another of the anti-bodies down.

"Autobots, focus on the matter at servo," Prowl ordered as he slashed the creatures with his blades.

Ironhide scowled but silently returned to the onslaught. Bumblebee beeped a comment as he fought alongside his mentor with Arcee next to him smirking.

"Don't even think about it scout, no one beats me," Ironhide boasted as he brought down two with his huge cannons.

The Autobot scout only turned to give him a triumphant look as he shot down three.

"Shut it, Bee," Ironhide warned as he blasted three to pieces.

Elita managed a small smile as she fought on. Despite the severity of the situation, Ironhide and Bumblebee always managed to lighten the situation. Even a situation that involved the Chaos Bringer himself, Unicron.

She sighed heavily. Thoughts of the enemy they were currently inside of brought her back to the small thought nagging her helm, what was Optimus planning? She knew her sparkmate was planning to use the matrix, question was, what would happen when he did? Elita knew that he had no idea what would happen; he couldn't even answer her when she questioned him about his plan. That expression of uncertainty on his faceplate had worried her greatly. But there was something else that was bothering her even more. Just before allowing Megatron into the base, Elita caught a flash of resignation from her sparkmate's optics. When she tried to question him about this, he merely told her it was nothing to worry about. Then he had quickly retreated from her penetrating gaze. But she knew when her sparkmate was trying to hide something; he was never really any good at keeping anything from her.

And the final tender look he gave her before leaving with Megatron did not help his case either.

She pushed these thoughts aside; now was the time to save the earth. Her feelings and her sparkmate could come later. Before returning her mindset to the battle, she reached through her spark to her sparkmate to reassure herself of her presence and to send him her reassurance and support.

But instead of his powerful and loving presence; she felt nothing.

Elita gasped as she realized she couldn't feel his spark connected to hers.

It was gone.

She stood listlessly, not even noticing that the anti-bodies had dropped to the ground lifelessly.

She didn't even hear the halt of the gunfire.

"Elita, come on!" Chromia broke through her trance.

Elita nodded slowly as she followed the others to the spark chamber of Unicron.

When they ran in, Elita saw Optimus standing behind Megatron looking confused. When Bulkhead called out to the Prime, Optimus merely turned to Megatron and asked, "Why did he call me that?"

While she was relieved to see him alive, this question halted Elita in her steps. Her sparkmate didn't seem to remember his name; and he sounded more like the inexperienced, young Orion Pax than the experienced Optimus Prime. Elita called out hesitantly to her sparkmate, who merely stared at her coldly.

Elita froze, his optics never looked at her so coldly before. Loving, tender, maybe even a little bit annoyed, but never coldly.

She barely registered Megatron blasting at her. Only when Ironhide grabbed her servo and pulled her back with a hiss, "Elita, be careful!" did she attempt to regain control of her mind.

She looked around at the other Autobots to gauge their reactions. Bumblebee was lying on the ground and was looking up hurt. Arcee ran to his side while the others were standing shocked staring as Optimus took one last look at his troops before stepping into the ground bridge to the Decepticon warship.

His optics caught hers momentarily.

She stared back pleadingly, pleading him to remember her, to return to her.

And for a moment she hoped he would.

But he didn't. He merely returned her despairing expression with a blank one and then turned and stepped into the ground bridge.

Leaving them all without a leader.

Some of the other Autobots tried to blast at Megatron but the Decepticon leader managed to avoid their fire and followed Optimus into the ground bridge. He turned quickly and caught Elita's optics and smirked evilly to her.

She glared venomously in return, hiding the shattering of her spark.

The Decepticon leader then gave them all an evil grin before leaving them behind at the Earth's core.

…

They returned to the Autobot base minutes later and reported the result of the battle to Ratchet and the humans. Ratchet then told them about how when Optimus sacrificed the matrix and the collective wisdom of the Primes, he had also sacrificed his own memories. Everyone stood and let this sink in.

"There must be something we can do, frag it!" Ironhide thundered.

Prowl silently nodded in agreement.

Jazz was pacing the room agitatedly; a first for him.

Bumblebee stood next to Ironhide with a desperate look in his optics; Arcee stood by his side, a servo in his. Mirage and Bulkhead stood unusually silent, even the twins didn't offer their usual banter. It didn't feel the same when their beloved commander had been stolen away from them. Ratchet stood thinking quietly with Red Alert by his side. And the humans stood at the side with worried expressions on their faces.

While the others offered suggestions or were comforting the others, Elita stood out standing silently with a hollow expression in her optics. She stood frozen in that spot as if in another world.

Finally, someone seemed to notice her state.

"Elita-1?" Ratchet called out unusually softly.

Everyone turned to stare at the female commander.

Finally, she turned her hollow eyes at the Autobot medic, "He's gone."

"What do you mean, Elita?" Jazz asked gently as he approached her with Ratchet and Prowl.

"I can't feel him here, Ratchet!" she cried out softly pointing to her chest where her spark was located.

"I can't feel his spark!" she stated desperately.

It took a few moments for them to understand what she was saying; that she had lost her sparkbond with Optimus when he sacrificed the matrix.

Suddenly, she collapsed. Jazz and Prowl managed to catch in time. Ironhide turned to Ratchet and demanded, "What happened to her, Ratchet?"

Ratchet shook his head sadly, "The shock of losing her sparkbond with Optimus was too much of a strain for her. She's passed out from exhaustion."

"Will she be all right?" June asked as she walked over to the medic.

"She needs rest and fuel, June, but more than that she needs Optimus," Ratchet answered.

…..

Note: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Sorry it's a short one! I just wanted a Elita centric story, and this is what I came up with. Hopefully, you'll like this chapter.

Please review!


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own _Transformers_. I don't own any of the characters.

Note: This happens a month after the second Valentine's Day from the end of Let's Talk, Okay? This is another Arcee and Bumblebee chapter.

Also, sorry for those who are waiting for those requests, I am working on them and will post them as soon as possible. I am a little busy with school right now so updates will be slower. I have also written two chapters for Arcee and Bumblebee besides this one, but I was waiting to put them off until after a couple other chapters.

_Note: Bumblebee's quotes are in italics._

…

Chapter 4: The "I Don't Know" Response to a Proposal

In the hallway of the Autobot base, grunts and the clanging of metal could be heard coming from the sparring room where no doubt two Autobots were battling it out in a mock battle.

Inside the training room, a petite, dark blue female was in a fighting stance against a taller, yellow male Autobot. Both stared down the other intently, ready for the other to make the first move.

Suddenly, the female charged towards the yellow Autobot who merely smirked as she threw out a punch. He deftly deflected the blow and then brought his own servo towards her chassis. She stepped agilely aside and then brought her other servo forward to strike him on his abdomen. Smirking, he grabbed her servo and lifted her up by the arm. She glared at him and then used her free legs to kick him squarely in the helm. He dropped her and staggered backwards grabbing his helm in pain.

_"__Frag, __Arcee, __I__'__m__ not __a __Con!__"_ he whined through his beeps.

The female named Arcee smirked and replied, "Come on, Bee, stop complaining."

He responded by groaning and didn't even bother to look up as she charged and flipped in the air, ready to punch the Autobot scout in the helm and knock him out.

Arcee had a triumphant look upon her faceplate as she stared down at her seemingly oblivious victim until Bumblebee lifted his helm and grinned challengingly at her.

She glared down at him as she brought her servo forward to wipe that ridiculous and annoyingly adorable smirk off his faceplate.

Quick as lightning, Bumblebee sidestepped behind Arcee, causing her to land on her feet where he had once been standing with her back to him. Before she could even turn around to face him, she felt a large servo grab hers and another wrapped gently around her waist and forced her to turn around. Then he pulled her slowly towards himself, causing her to be This caused a mere few inches away from her partner who was smiling down triumphantly.

She responded with a scowl.

Bending down, he beeped, _"__I__ win.__"_

His partner frowned and stubbornly refused to concede defeat. But she didn't let go of his servo, nor did she try to escape his servo wrapped around her waist.

He chuckled, _"__Always__ so__ stubborn__ and __too __proud __to__ admit __defeat.__"_

At this, the female looked up with a smirk, remarking, "Those are my most endearing qualities."

_"__That__ they __are,__"_ he agreed through beeps and chirps.

Silence fell as the two were lost in the moment, staring into each other's optics. Arcee peered up into those loving and caring optics as he stared into her beautiful optics. The yellow scout then brought his helm forward to hers as if to give her a kiss. Arcee closed her optics and tilted her faceplate up, ready for the kiss. Instead he muttered softly through soft beeps, _"__Be __my __sparkmate.__"_

Arcee suddenly started and stiffened in his embrace, "What?"

He didn't seem to notice the change and repeated, _"__Will__ you __be__ my __sparkmate, __Arcee?__"_

Arcee's optics widened and her body tensed. She stepped quickly back from his servos and unconsciously yanked her servo out of his.

Surprise and betrayal rose in her partner's optics, but he managed to beep, _"__Arcee?__"_

She didn't respond and he felt the need to repeat his question.

_"__Arcee,__ what__ just __happened?__"_ he persisted as he approached her and placed his two comforting servos on her shoulders.

He waited patiently for a response. Finally, he got one.

Arcee managed to regain her composure enough to say, "Nothing happened. You surprised me, that's all."

She didn't even lift her helm to meet his upset optics.

Disbelieving her excuse, he countered, _"__What __is __your __answer__ then?__ No__ or __yes?__"_

She stepped back again and made to leave if not for the strong servo that grabbed hers and pulled her gently back to him. They stood there for a moment with Arcee refusing to look him in the optics.

_"__Arcee,__ look __at__ me,__"_ he beeped in a serious tone.

She finally peered up to see his caring optics, but she also could detect the hurt she was causing him. She felt guilty about hurting him in this way; he probably thought he had insulted her or upset her in some way, when that certainly was not why she was reacting this way.

She sighed and questioned suddenly, "Why?"

He seemed taken aback from this question, _"__Why __what?__"_

"Why me?" she added a bit more forcefully.

He chuckled, hoping to alleviate the tension arising from this unexpected turn of events.

_"__Arcee, __I__'__m __hardly __the__ first __mech__ to __be __attracted __to __you,__" _he joked lightly,_ "__You__'__re__ a__ knockout! Not that kinds of Knockout-you know what I mean.__"_

His partner responded a hard look.

He quickly sobered and then stated, _"__But __that__'__s__ not__ why__ I__ asked__ you.__"_

Her gazed softened slightly as he sighed and rubbed his helm with his servo, considering where to begin. Then he turned his optics back to hers and began, _"__I__ asked__ you, __Arcee, __because __I __love__ you. __I __love__ everything__ abou t__you; __your__ strength, __your __loyalty,__ and__ even__ your __stubborn __attitude,__"_ he added with a smirk, _"__I__ admire__ you__ for __your __resilience __and __your__ abilities__ especially__ your __relentless __way__ of __going __through__ the __challenges __we__'__re__forced __to __face.__ In __short ,__Arcee, __I__ adore__ you.__ "_

His gaze never wavered from hers as he continued.

_"__But__ it__'__s__ more__ than __that,__ Arcee.__ You__ make __my__ spark __feel __complete,__ and__ I__ cherish__ each__ second__ I__'__m __in __your __presence.__ But__ I __want__ our__ relationship __to __be __more__ than__ that.__ I__ want__ to__ share__ every __memory,__ every__ joy,__ and __every__ pain__ with__ you.__ I__'__m __willing__ to__ burden__ your__ pain__ with__ my__ own.__ I __love __you __and__ I__ never__ want __to__ be __separated__ from__ you__ without __being__ able__ to__ feel__ you__ here__ in__ my__ spark,__"_ he stated softly as he placed a servo on his chassis.

Silence followed as all this registered into Arcee's mind.

Bumblebee took this silence as a chance lightly ask with a small smile, _"__And__ what__ about__ you,__ Arcee?__ I __have__ just__ spilled out __my__ feelings__ for__ you,__what__ do__ you__ have __to__ say?__"_

Arcee was at a loss for words; she had no idea how to respond. Speaking about her feelings was more of something he would do, not her.

He looked hopefully towards her, probably hoping that this would make her open up and accept his proposal.

Instead the words coming out of her mouthplates sent his world crashing down.

"I don't know," she finally muttered.

Taking one quick look at her partner and she realized her mistake. He looked saddened and betrayed almost, but he attempted an understanding smile as he nodded, _"__When ever__ you__'__re__ ready.__"_

He left the rest unspoken. He bent down to kiss her, but then hesitated and straightened up. He turned to leave, but not before beeping in an even voice, _"__You__ should__ pick__ up __Jack,__ school__'__s__ about__ to__ end.__"_

Arcee nodded numbly.

Without another word, he walked out of the sparring room, leaving behind a guilty looking Arcee.

She leaned against the wall and berated herself for her behavior.

Bumblebee, her partner for one Earth year, the one Autobot she'd been able to been able to fall for easily had just asked her to be his sparkmate. And then he opened up his spark to her and told her the extent of what he felt for her.

And what did she do?

She just stood there and finally said, "I don't know."

_I __don__'__t __know!_

She should have said more; opened up her spark more. Tell him her fears, her insecurities.

No, instead, she had to stupidly let out those three words.

_I __don__'__t __know._

And those three words had hurt him; no devastated him if his hesitation and his decision not to kiss her was any indication of that.

He had gone on telling her how much he adored her and when he asked her what she felt about their relationship and its future, the level of love he had for her had surprised her; but that was no excuse for her thoughtless words.

But honestly, she really didn't know.

She didn't know whether she even wanted that level of a bond with Bumblebee. Not that she didn't love him, Primus, she loved the scout to death; even if she couldn't come out and actually say that to his faceplate.

No, that wasn't the problem.

It was that thought in the back of her mind that had held her back from replying properly. And it was that thought that was holding her back now. That was the problem.

Having a sparkmate was something she'd always had envied others for. Having somebody to love and cherish you, to fill your spark with reassurance and support, was something she had always secretly yearned for. She'd hoped for a sparkmate for eons.

Unfortunately, neither one of her previous relationships lasted long enough for her and her partner to reach that level of commitment and love. There never seemed to be enough time.

With Bumblebee, everything was different.

Their relationship seemed to have deepened quickly enough for him to even consider her as his future sparkmate choice after only about an Earth year together. It was as if they had both fallen in love quickly and hard.

And while his proposal should have thrilled her; she was terrified.

Terrified that she was letting herself fall in love too quickly and too deeply. Terrified that it would all end abruptly and painfully like the previous two times. And terrified of the pain from that loss.

It had hurt so much to lose a partner, and then she lost another. And she couldn't even imagine the torment one went through when they lost a sparkmate.

She wasn't sure if she was strong enough to risk that.

She just didn't know.

…...

Note: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. There will be more parts to this one coming up later on.

Please review! More reviews, the more suggestions I can work on!


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers. I don't own any of the characters.

Note: Sorry for the late update! Here's chapter 5! I decided to continue from chapter 3 after the season finale. This chapter is more focused on Ironhide and the others' reaction to Optimus Prime's memory loss. This happens the night after Optimus lost his memory. Enjoy!

Please review!

…...

Chapter 5: Coping and Moving Forward

Inside the Autobot base, the old warhorse of the Autobots was lying on his berth in frustration and anger. Ironhide turned to his side, then grunted and moved to his other side. After of couple of minutes, he frowned and turned back to his other side. He had shut off his optics and was trying to recharge.

But he wasn't being successful.

In fact, he had spent the last few hours tossing and turning in the hopes of catching a few clicks of recharge.

Finally, he gave up and swung his legs around the berth and sat at the edge of the Cybertronian bed staring into the darkness in deep thought. And if anyone knew Ironhide, they knew he never sat in deep thought.

Until their leader went missing, he would never be found in deep thought.

"Can't recharge either?" a feminine voice came from behind him.

Ironhide's optics widened slightly and he turned his head to see his sparkmate turning towards him. She looked up to his optics with an expression of frustration.

"Didn't mean to wake you," he stated gruffly.

She sat up in the berth and leaned forward, "You didn't. I couldn't recharge either."

"A lot on our minds right now," he commented sourly.

She nodded slowly but remained silent. They remained silent for a moment before Ironhide spoke again, "How do we go on without Prime?"

"I don't think we can," Chromia answered, "Elita certainly can't. This is killing her on the inside, and I know tomorrow she's going to be out and about and she'll act like nothing is wrong. And when I will confront her, she'll just say its her duty to stay strong for the others."

"Just like he would have done," Ironhide finished, "How is she feeling after that episode today?"

"Ratchet and Red Alert said she'd be fine, its mostly shock and grief, and Elita has always been good at hiding those. Today was the exception," Chromia answered as she leaned her head on Ironhide's shoulder.

"She and Prowl are going to have their servos full," Ironhide commented.

"So will you, Mr. third in command," Chromia added with a ghost of smile.

At this, Ironhide scowled, "Scrap."

"You know you will have to take on a bigger responsibility from now on. And not in fighting, but leading. Prowl can't do it all on his own," the light blue female Autobot reminded him.

"Now I really wish we could find that fragging Prime," Ironhide grumbled, "I hate responsibility. I'm the warrior, not the administrator!"

"Hide," his sparkmate warned, "You'll wake the others."

"Right," he muttered quietly, "But I still hope we find Optimus before I have to take on his fragging job with Prowl. Everyone knows how well that will work out."

Chromia nodded in agreement to that, "Then let's hope we find Prime by then."

Ironhide nodded before standing up, "Come on, let's get some energon now that we're awake. Then we'll give another try at a good night's recharge."

Chromia stood up with a smirk, "You read my mind, my dear."

And with that they left their quarters and made it to the kitchen area of the Autobot base, where tables and benches were set up for the giant beings. As they entered the room, they saw they were not alone. Bumblebee and Arcee sat beside each other on one side of the table while whispering to each other. Ratchet and Red Alert were talking quietly over cups of energon, Sunstreaker and Sideswipe were sitting next to each other with both talking about ways to bring back Optimus, from the plausible to the ridiculous. Prowl sat across from the twins and Jazz was sitting with Wheeljack. In fact, all the Autobots were there except for Elita and of course, Optimus Prime. They all looked frustrated, tired, and depressed.

As Ironhide and Chromia stepped in, all the other Autobots stopped what they were doing and looked up.

"You Bots couldn't recharge either?" Ironhide assumed.

"It's hard too when you know your leader is in the hands of the enemy," Arcee stated with a frown.

Bumblebee's optics looked up sadly at his mentor and Ironhide sighed and turned his optics away towards Prowl as he sat down. Chromia sat down facing Arcee by his side. Prowl glanced up at Ironhide with a tired expression, "This really is a mess."

"We've dealt with messes before, Prowl," Jazz replied.

"Yeah!" the twins replied trying to lighten the mood with forced smiles.

"But never like this!" Arcee snapped and Bumblebee tried to calm her down with reassuring clicks, but even he looked devastated.

"Arcee!" Chromia berated the younger female.

Arcee scowled, "Sorry."

Hoping to change the subject, Jazz turned to Ratchet, "How's Elita-1?"

Ratchet answered, "She's better than earlier, but I forced her into recharge. And I made sure she won't be able to come online for few clicks until she's rested from the shock."

"Is she going to be okay?" Bulkhead questioned.

"Physically she's fine," Red Alert began.

"She needs him, she'll be better once we find Optimus," Ratchet cut in.

Everyone went silent at that.

"Where are the humans?" Chromia asked, finally breaking the silence.

"Home, we thought it best for them to get some rest," Prowl answered.

Wheeljack cut in, "Prime must of known this would happen when he gave up the matrix, he must have had a plan for this."

"He probably did. Problem is, we don't what it is," Prowl reasoned.

Angry, Ironhide finally stood up, "Look, we need to stop moping around like the whole fragging world is about to end! Prime needs us and we owe it to him to stay strong."

Everyone nodded and Prowl stood up, "Ironhide, for once, you're right. We should get some rest and then tomorrow start looking for Prime as well as continue his work on this planet."

The others stood up and left to their quarters. Chromia stood up to leave, but Ironhide told her to go on without him. She nodded and walked out of the room.

The warhorse turned to the second in command of the Autobot army. Prowl smirked and stated, "Looks like we're going to have to run this army together."

Ironhide grimace, "Frag."

Prowl returned the expression, "Indeed."

"Prime better return," Ironhide muttered.

…...

Note: Well, I hope you enjoy this chapter! I'm trying to get back into my Transformers writing mode, so sorry if this one's not as good as the others.

Please review!


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own _Transformers Prime_; I don't own any of the characters.

Note: Sorry that it's been such a long time since the last update. I haven't had the time to keep up with _Transformers Prime_ and have been reluctant to write something disappointing for you guys.

This one-shot is from a while back that I had a rough draft for and was waiting for a good time to add to the others. This one happens probably after whatever happens in the second season finale is resolved and maybe even beyond season 3 (so excited!)

Warning: This one is a bit darker in the beginning, as a practice!

…...

Chapter 6: Nightmares

Arcee shook her head as she opened her optics slowly. She gazed around, taking in her surroundings. She noticed she was in a darkly lit area and with a jolt, she realized she was hanging by her servos.

Panic began to rise inside her.

This felt familiar, in a way she'd hoped she'd never feel again.

She was inside the torture chamber of her old nemesis, Airachnid.

"Arcee, so good of you to join us," the female Decepticon herself stated sweetly as she stepped in front of the blue Autobot.

Arcee felt herself shake; it was taking all her effort not to look scared, "Us?"

"Yes, you know," Airachnid smirked as she pointed at a bulky figure hanging in the shadows.

It was large and hung lifelessly from the chains. No sound came to indicate any remains of life in the object which looked like...

Arcee, horrified, cried out, "Tailgate!"

Airachnid's optics eyed her curiously, "Tailgate? Oh, Arcee, he's been gone for quite a while. Look closer; you'll recognize him."

Arcee's optics widened as she turned her helm back to the shadows in an attempt to get a better look at the dead Autobot in the shadows, but she had a sinking feeling about who it was.

"Still can't see? Well, how about some light to help your optics," the spider Decepticon stated with a smile that didn't reach her wild red optics.

The lights suddenly turned on.

Arcee gasped.

There hanging in a limp heap, and without a doubt dead, was Bumblebee.

His head was facing down and energon was leaking from his chassis down to the floor in puddles. His normally bright yellow plating looked pale, almost gray. With horror, Arcee noticed that both of his optics had been ripped out and his servos ripped apart with energon leaking from the holes on his arms. Across his chassis were long jagged scratches and where his spark chamber should have been was a gaping opening that was empty and pitch black; no light, no brightness.

Bumblebee's spark shouldn't be so dark.

Why did it have to be so dark?

"No, no!" Arcee screamed, "Not him!"

Airachnid walked towards the lifeless Autobot and took his helm in her servo, "At some point, Arcee, you really need to consider that maybe it's you."

Arcee didn't answer, her optics glued to the image in front of her.

"Tailgate, Cliffjumper, and now the scout. So young, so full of life," she continued, "Why couldn't you stay away?"

When Arcee didn't answer, the Decepticon added, "Didn't you reject him at first? You could have saved him; you should have listened to your better judgment."

"Stop," the blue Autobot begged slowly.

"Now's he's gone, dear Arcee," Airachnid continued, "And it's all your fault."

"Stop!" Arcee yelled.

The Decepticon didn't answer but Arcee didn't stop, no longer talking to Airachnid, "Why couldn't I save you? You said it would be different!"

No answer came, but Arcee was hysterical.

"Please, don't leave me like the others. Bumblebee, don't leave me!" she cried.

"Bumblebee!" Arcee yelled as she brought her helm up from the berth.

She realized where she was; in her quarters at the new Autobot base (the old one was destroyed by the Decepticons.

She brought a servo to her helm and began to calm herself down.

"Just a dream," she continued muttering to herself.

Finally, she managed to notice the silence in the room. She panicked and began looking around; reaching out in her spark for her missing sparkmate.

She sighed in relief and chuckled nervously when she felt his servo against hers.

Arcee relaxed, "Bumblebee, you're all right. It was that dream again..."

She noticed that he hand't stood up and wrapped his arms around her like he usually did when she was like this. Arcee glanced down to see him recharging peacefully.

The blue Autobot felt a bit of annoyance to see her sparkmate recharging happily during her ordeal.

How could he have recharged through that.

"Fragger," she muttered.

For the last couple months since they had first become sparkmates, Arcee's nightmares had been coming relentlessly. Most nights ended with Bumblebee staying awake and comforting her until she could finally get a few clicks of recharge. Occasionally, Arcee would do the same for the Autobot scout.

Lately, her nightmares had worsened and had become more and more frequent.

This meant that Bumblebee had less and less time to rest.

She felt guilty for keeping him up every night for the last couple nights. She glanced down and noticed he had placed himself into total recharge.

He had purposefully placed himself in recharge to as to avoid being woken up!

Irritation took over her guilt, he could have told her he needed to rest.

She would have been fine for a night. She knew that wasn't true, but she was willing to make a sacrifice after his many sacrifices.

There was no need to ignore her.

Arcee then berated herself for thinking badly against her sparkmate; he cared for her far too much to shut her out like this when he knew she needed his help.

"You were so exhausted that your body probably forced you into total recharge," she guessed before standing up from the berth.

She made her way to the Autobot kitchen area to get some energon.

Reaching the kitchen, she was surprised to see the Autobot medic sitting there as if waiting for something or someone. His servos were crossed across his chassis and he carried his typical annoyed expression on his faceplate.

Arcee brought her servo up as a short greeting and commented as he nodded, "What are you doing up so late, Ratchet?"

He grumbled, "Waiting for you."

Curious, Arcee tried for a joke, "Ratchet, you do know I have a sparkmate, right? And I doubt Red Alert would be very happy with this."

He gave her a disgruntled expression before answering curtly, "Cut the humor. Your sparkmate is the only reason I'm up this late."

Arcee's optics widened slightly as she sat down at the table, "What did Bee want with you?"

Ratchet responded with a frown, "The idiot refused to go into full recharge tonight."

Arcee stared back blankly, "But he's..."

"That's because I forced him to go into recharge; the scout was about to collapse from exhaustion. And it was either that or he'd spend the next two weeks on missions with the twins, or in the sickbay with me, and Ironhide would be assigned to pick up Rafael from school."

The blue female Autobot shook her head in amusement at the medic's threats. Ratchet knew how to hit her sparkmate exactly where it hurt. Forcing him to spend time with the twins meant hours of teasing and being without his human friend was unbearable; Arcee could relate, Ratchet had kept Jack from her for two weeks for bed rest after she managed to get injured in a fight. And if that human friend was being pick up by Ironhide, whom Bumblebee suspected of plotting to steal the young boy from him, then Bumblebee would really be upset. The yellow Autobot was usually sweet and kind, but when it came to Ironhide's blatant attempts at adopting Rafael for his own, Bumblebee put his metallic foot down.

So that explained why her sparkmate hadn't jumped up at the sound of her screams. But that still didn't clear up something else about this situation.

"Then why are you here?" she asked curiously.

He sighed exasperatedly and rubbed a servo on his forehead, "Because even with those threats, he wouldn't agree until I promised to take care of your problems."

"My problems?" she managed.

He gave her a stern look, "Yes, your sparkmate isn't as dense as I thought."

She decided to ignore the insult, "What are you talking about, medic?"

"He's told me about how the nightmares have gotten worse, and I think it's high time you confronted them," he replied.

"They're just nightmares, nothing more," she replied firmly.

"About losing Bumblebee," he replied, "And if memory serves me correctly, the reason why you first rejected his offer to become his sparkmate was because you were afraid to lose him."

"How did you know about my dreams?" she demanded.

"It wasn't hard to guess, and Bumblebee's heard you scream his name," he answered simply.

"Well, then I accepted him. Clearly, that means I got over my fears of letting someone in, Ratchet," she snapped, gripping her cup of energon tightly in one servo.

"I'm no fool, Arcee. You may have repressed your fears after the destruction of the base and tried to believe in the whole 'life is too short' scrap you gave Bumblebee; but your fears are still there," he pointed out, "That your nightmares are getting worse is an indication of that."

"What are trying to say?" she asked frowning.

"Your nightmares are psychological. And if we don't find a way to stop them; they are going to rip you two apart," Ratchet answered, "Besides preventing you two from a good recharge."

Before she could argue, he raised a servo, "You're not opening up to him, he told me as much when I confronted him this morning about his exhaustion. You're pushing him away, and the others are noticing it. Optimus himself asked me to advise you on the matter."

"How did you figure you'd do that?" Arcee questioned sourly.

"By telling it to you straight," he answered firmly.

"Tell me what exactly? That I should tell my sparkmate how I see his murder nearly every night now; or that I constantly worry about him whenever he's on his own?" Arcee demanded, glaring at the medic across from her.

"You don't think he has the same fears? Or that anyone of us do?" he pressed, "What about Elita? In the course of one Earth year, she's lost Optimus twice."

Arcee couldn't find it in herself to answer; the sparkmate of their leader had suffered more than they all had in the last year.

"When he returned, she made up for lost time. She spent what little time they have, focusing on the present and not the past," he finished.

"What do you want me to do?" she managed quietly, knowing she had to change.

"You fear losing him more than you care about him," he pointed out, "You need to let go of that fear."

Arcee snorted, "How am I supposed to do that, doctor?"

"I can't believe I'm spending this much time trying to get through to your stubborn helm," he sighed, "You need to live in the present, accept we're all mortal and enjoy whatever good in this life we manage to find."

"Easier said than done," she replied with a frown, "And you learned that from June."

The Autobot medic gave her a small glare before conceding, "True, especially if you're on your own. And I didn't take that from June."

Arcee gave him a questioning look.

"Open up more, maybe sharing your fears with Bumblebee can lessen them. And opening up with your sparkmate will bring you closer and make you work better as a unit, or whatever Optimus was telling me to tell you."

Arcee smirked, "I thought relationship advice sounded more like Elita and Optimus, so why aren't they here to give me the lecture?"

"Because the things those two have gone through mean they both need rest," he stated firmly, "And you deserved my ire for costing me and the scout some good rest."

"Duly noted," Arcee stood up, "You know, Ratchet, you do make a good relationship guide. Even if your information has been stolen from others."

"Frag off," he muttered as he stalked off, "I should have let someone else handle this scrap."

Arcee managed an amused smile as she made her way back to her room.

A couple clicks later and Bumblebee came back online.

"Good recharge?" Arcee questioned wryly.

He raised his servos apologetically, _I swear it was Ratchet who made me do it._

"Yeah, he told me," she answered smirking.

Bumblebee gave her a worried glance, _Nightmares again? I'm sorry, I'm sure Ratchet wasn't a great comfort._

"You have no idea," she chuckled and took his servo in hers.

_Now are you going to tell me about your nightmare? _He asked hopefully.

She nodded.

…...

I don't think I like this chapter, so sorry if it is a disappointment!

Please review!


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters. I don't own _Transformers Prime_.

Note: I'm suddenly in an Elita one and Optimus mood and this one-shot was born! Enjoy! This happens during Orion Pax part 3 and continues to after Optimus returns. This also references the earlier chapter about these episodes. This was just a drabble I was writing to try writing Optimus and Elita moments, so it's not very good. It's more of a Elita centric chapter.

Please review!

...

Chapter 7

Elita One was usually one to be composed, calm, and the vision of control.

She was the consort of the last Prime; it was expected of her just as it was demanded from him.

That was certainly not the case in the last couple weeks since said Prime had lost his memories since being anointed Prime and had joined the Decepticons, courtesy of the the manipulative powers of Megatron.

Just thinking the Decepticon warlord's name made her bitter and clench her servos. She wanted nothing more than to strangle that fragging Con but she knew Optimus would never approve of that kind of behavior.

Autobots had to hold a higher standard than the Decepticons, had to show mercy and restraint.

She frowned as she paced the floors of the Autobot base; where Ratchet had confined her while the others enacted their plan to retrieve her sparkmate's memories. The medic had claimed that due to recent events, she wasn't deemed capable of handling a mission like this.

In other words, she was emotionally compromised and he was pulling his rank as head medic to keep her feet planted firmly in the Autobot Headquarters.

When Elita had tried to appeal to the female medic, Red Alert had promptly answered that she agreed with her male counterpart and would in no way allow Elita to leave the headquarters.

Elita decided that having two medics in a relationship was not helpful at all; it meant they agreed almost all of the time.

She sighed and paced the area.

The others had split into two groups, one that would travel with Jack Darby to Cybertron to locate Vector Sigma and retrieve the Prime's memories; and another group was assigned to guard the space bridge currently in Decepticon servos.

They'd been preparing for a week for this day. Ratchet's attempts at fixing the ground bridge had discouraged them at first; and Jack's idea hadn't given them much at first. Prowl and Ironhide had tried their best to keep order and keep running things smoothly but everyone was on edge. It was the secret meeting between Prowl, Ironhide, and Ratchet and Starscream that had given everyone a sense of purpose, and more importantly, given them all hope. They now had the location of the Decepticon space bridge; now all they needed to do was take it and send a group to Cybertron.

Easier said than done, Elita thought wryly.

All the Autobots except for Red Alert and herself had been sent out on this mission to bring back their Prime. No chances were taken; Prowl and Ironhide wanted to make sure they weren't' going to be outmatched at any point in the plan. They couldn't afford to lose the space bridge before the Jack and the Autobot group assigned to find Vector Sigma returned and lose their comrades and friends in the process.

Elita smirked slightly at the thought of Prowl and the old warhorse.

They had been left in charge since Optimus thought he was Orion and since she had her incident during the aforementioned incident. And not surprisingly, the two were horribly suited to run a base together. Prowl was always more of the planner and Ironhide just wanted to run in cannons blazing. Needless to say, arguments broke out nearly every hour and little was accomplished. In fact, the only thing they did agree on was this plan.

Both were eager to have Optimus back to relieve them of their duties, she mused.

She sat down on one of the berths and waited. She waited for some sort of sign, or for the sound of the ground bridge signaling their return.

Even if they managed to retrieve his memories, they'd still have to find him and convince him their on his side. Megatron had probably filled Optimus's helm with lies against them, and the trusting Orion Pax would believe the Cybertronian he had once looked up to and believed in.

But Elita knew her sparkmate better than that; Orion Pax was no fool and he certainly was no Decepticon sympathizer. He would figure out Megatron's lies one way or another, and he would realize where his loyalties should lie. He wouldn't have been chosen as a Prime if he would just accept Megatron's charade without question.

She felt a hollow feeling in her spark, one that had been there since she'd lost Optimus to Megatron.

When he had sacrificed his memories and experiences as a Prime, he'd also sacrificed their sparkbond

Now she felt empty and lost, and he wouldn't be able to recognize her.

Orion knew Ariel, but she'd come a long way since then. She'd turned into Elita One after Orion was chosen to become Optimus Prime, and would be among the memories he'd given up.

Not that she would ever begrudge him for making that sacrifice. She was proud that he would give up so much to save this planet and its inhabitants, beings that she had come to respect and feel protective of.

She glanced up at the humans, who were hovering near Red Alert as she monitored the computers. Fowler was speaking something into the computer as the others looked on nervously.

After a moment, they sighed and relaxed.

Curious, Elita approached them, "Any news?"

"Jack and his team are on Cybertron, and Ratchet reported that the Decepticons haven't discovered their attack yet," Red Alert answered.

Elita nodded and patiently waited for more news.

It was about an hour later when the connection was cut off.

Red Alert worked frantically at the computer and tried to contact the others, "Ratchet, what's going on?"

Silence came from the other end.

"Megatron must have found out about the bridge to Cybertron," Rafael guessed.

June Darby's eyes widened and she leaned against the railing to steady herself.

"Jack will be fine, June," Elita reassured her, "Arcee, Bumblebee, Chromia, and the twins are with him. No harm will come to them."

"Even if the notorious twins are with them," Miko piped up.

Fowler groaned slightly, having had to clean up after the antics of the Autobot twin brothers, "We should have sent Mirage instead."

"Indeed, then we wouldn't have to worry about the twins breaking Cybertron," Red Alert agreed

Elita would have disagreed, but she stopped herself when she realized the twins were definitely capable of destroying a planet. It took all of their efforts to keep earth in one piece.

Elita suddenly felt a surge in her spark.

She brought a servo to her chassis and smiled.

The others hadn't noticed the change, their eyes were glued on the computer screen.

Red Alert blinked as if she couldn't believe what she was seeing on the screen.

Fowler peered at the computer, "I'm getting readings on an extra Autobot reading, guys. Is Prime with you?"

"And Jack," Arcee answered and June let out a sigh of relief.

Moments later and the ground bridge began to glow brigtly. Red Alert and Elita followed the humans as they rushed over to to greet their friends.

Arcee and Jack were the first to exit; the others followed.

Ironhide walked out alongside Chromia and Prowl. He gave her a knowing smirk, and Elita could tell Prowl was relieved.

Finally, he walked in.

Elita barely paid attention as he greeted the children and Ratchet reassured him. She barely noticed as Ironhide joked about being free or how the twins made false promises to be good to the Prime. She however, felt her energon boil when she saw the Decepticon symbols on her sparkmate's shoulders.

Optimus finally glanced up and caught her optics.

They shared a look before he walked over to her. She barely noticed the others leaving to give them some space.

He stood before her and reached out his servo to her faceplate. His optics seemed to convey his anguish and longing to her and she brought her servo over his.

"You forgot me," she muttered softly.

"I remembered Ariel," he admitted with a guilty look, "But I didn't remember you."

"It's not your fault," she returned.

"But I did notice an emptiness, like something was missing," he added.

She managed a small smile and he took her in his arms, "Then when I received my memories, everything seemed whole again."

"I know the feeling," Elita responded as she wrapped her arms around him.

"I'm sorry," he said softly.

"Don't be," she responded.

He leaned his helm down and kissed her softly.

They broke apart after a moment. He leaned his helm on hers and relished the feeling of being close to her.

"We'll have to get rid of those," Elita broke the silence.

Optimus opened his optics and followed her optics which were glaring at his Decepticon symbols as if Megatron himself were there.

"Indeed," he agreed, "They displease me as well."

Elita looked up and frowned at her sparkmate's expression. He looked disappointed and ashamed in himself. She grew angry and cursed the Decepticons; her sparkmate was innocent in all this.

She brought up her servos and grabbed his helm. She forced him to look at her and stated firmly, "You were manipulated, Optimus. You didn't know they were evil, you couldn't even remember your friends. How could you have expected to recognize the Decepticons for what they were right from the beginning? The only one you recognized was the Megatron who was once your friend."

He smiled slightly and it warmed her, "You look as if you want to march up there and give Megatron a piece of your mind."

She smirked, "Maybe I will. Although, I hope you gave him a few dents in the meanwhile?"

He nodded, "I do not think I have ever seen Megatron look nervous than when I stopped his blade today."

Elita kissed him once again, "Good, that will do in the meantime."

He took her servo in his, "I take it that Prowl and Ironhide did not work out as a team?"

She chuckled, "You have no idea. By the second week, Irohnide was ready to shoot himself than have to deal with Prowl on a daily basis. And Prowl looked ready to strangle the old warhorse by the third week."

"Two weeks," Optimus smirked, "That is a new record."

"Ironhide wanted to shoot Prowl by the second day," she countered, "And he shot at the twins by the third."

Optimus's optics widened but she reassured, "He missed, mostly."

Her sparkmate shook his head and raised a servo to his helm, "I'll have to talk to him about that."

"And Mirage," she added, "and after that, you should probably lecture Jazz on keeping inconspicuous out among the humans, and Wheeljack about his antics with explosives."

Optimus sighed, "Did Miko at least stay out of trouble?"

The expression on Elita's face, one of disbelief, answered that question.

"What can we say? We're a mess without you, Prime," Sunstreaker proclaimed as he poked his head out of a hallway and grinned widely.

Before the Prime and his sparkmate could answer, Sunstreaker disappeared behind a wall

The sound of metal hitting metal came and Sunstreaker yelped, "Ow!"

No doubt Ratchet had found a use for his wrench again.

"It's good to be back," Optimus stated with a small smile.

…...

There's chapter 7! I hope you enjoyed this one!

Please review!


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, I don't own _Transformers Prime_.

Note: Another random write. This is a sequel to chapter 4; this story follows guys' night for some of the Autobots and what that could mean when they get in trouble.

…...

Chapter 8

Fowler frowned as he turned his car into the parking lot of the police. He got out of the car and grumbled under his breath, "What did they need at this hour?"

It was nearly midnight, with the stars covering the clear night sky.

Fowler had been on his way home when he got a call from the police station to come over.

And here he was.

Stepping inside, he found a lone officer at the desk. Approaching the desk, the officer glanced up and asked, "How can I help you?"

"I'm Fowler," he answered impatiently, "I'm here about a call."

"Oh, you're here for them," the officer responded with an irritated frown.

"What do you mean them?" Fowler demanded.

"Right this way," he said as he guided Fowler to the back.

"We caught these guys after they started a bar fight," he explained, "When we brought them here, they said you were their guardian."

By now, Fowler was confused and not in the mood for games, "Who are these guys?"

The officer shrugged, "We don't know. One of them won't talk and the others just flirt with my female partner."

Fowler had a sinking feeling what this was about, "Can I see them?"

"Sure," the officer nodded, "Right this way."

They turned into a room where a female officer was waiting in front of a temporary cell. Fowler peered in and saw four men inside the cell. One was sitting silently fuming on a bench; he was a tall guy with messy blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and was dressed in a yellow t-shirt and black short. Two guys were walking around joking with the officer, both with dark hair but silver streaks in one's hair and gold streaks in the other. They were dressed in silver and gold shirts with black jeans. They definitely looked like twins. The fourth was a dark haired, Italian looking guy dressed in fiery red and black. All of them had the same bright blue eyes.

One of the twins was the first to notice Fowler, "Hey Fowler, mind getting us out?"

With a inward groan, Fowler realized he was looking at the human holoforms for the twins. The Italian was probably Mirage, but who was the last Autobot?

Then Fowler remembered how one of them wouldn't talk and his eyes widened.

Why was Bumblebee with them? Usually the Autobot scout was the one who kept the twins out of trouble, not get himself in trouble with them.

He had to keep cool and get them out before anyone found out.

How the heck did they even get caught without their cars?

"Yeah, I know them," he said and he motioned for the officers to come over to him.

"These four guys were apprehended after a physical altercation," the other police officer explained, "When we tried to interrogate them, the one on the bench wouldn't answer."

Fowler grimaced, he knew why he couldn't and the story wasn't pleasant.

"The two brothers then began to flirt with me when I questioned them," the female officer answered irritably, "And refused to answer my questions."

"What can we say?" Sideswipe shrugged, "We get distracted by a pretty lady."

His brother nodded energetically.

The female officer glared over at them and snapped, "Stay silent or you'll be spending the night here."

The twins' smiles disappeared and they turned pleading eyes to Fowler.

"We're too beautiful to leave in here!" Sunstreaker protested dramatically.

Sideswipe nodded furiously.

Fowler ignored them.

"And the fourth keeps talking in a thick Italian accent, and won't give us a straight answer," the other officer added.

"I will say nothing," he admitted before flipping his hair.

_Seriously?_ Fowler thought annoyed.

"The only thing we could get out of them was that they had connections with you," the male officer added.

Fowler thought quickly, knowing he couldn't tell the actual truth but would have to come up with something.

He glanced over at the Autobots and then back to the officers, "I'm Agent Fowler, and these four are on witness protection. I'm the officer keeping an eye on them."

"We're what?" Mirage asked.

Fowler threw him a look to remain silent. Fortunately, he got the message.

The officer's seemed surprised, "Why weren't we informed?"

Fowler brought out his badge to prove he was with the government before explaining, "We wanted to keep it hushed, we couldn't be sure the police could be trusted."

He glared over at the twins, who looked on innocently as he said, "But some people don't know the concept of being witnesses under protection!"

The twins had the decency to look away as Mirage chuckled arrogantly. Bumblebee's narrowed his eyes and glanced down.

"Why not?" the female officer demanded.

"They're were witness to a gang murder, one of the gangs the government has been trying to find and shut down. Unfortunately, the gang has bought and manipulated many police officers and government officials so we have to use precaution," Fowler explained.

The two officers seemed to be taking that as an acceptable answer; but they both glanced over the four Autobots as if trying to read the possible horrors they had seen. Horrors the two were probably creating in their imaginations.

The female officer glanced over Bumblebee, "So why is that one so quiet?"

"Trauma from the incident," Fowler added nervously, knowing he wasn't exactly good at lying, "Hasn't talked to anyone."

That wasn't exactly lying, Fowler noted as the officer's eyes turned sympathetic.

"Oh," she managed.

"Now if you would release them, we would really appreciate it," Fowler requested, "I promise I'll keep them out of trouble."

The officers shared a look as if hesitant to let the four guys out. Finally, the male officer who had let Fowler in ordered his partner "Let them go. Their cars are out back, they refused to leave without them."

"We had to have them towed here," the woman added as she unlocked the prison cell door.

Fowler sighed, that answered how they were able to get to the prison without disappearing suddenly. That would have been an annoying case to explain.

When the door to the cell opened, Sideswipe and Sunstreaker burst out and fist pumped, "Yes, we're free!"

Mirage followed smirking as they winked at the female officer, who ignored them.

Finally, Bumblebee stood up. With a brooding look, he walked out.

The female officer placed a hand on his shoulder, which made him glance up.

"I'm sorry for what happened to you," she said kindly, "If you need anything, just pop by."

The human form of Bumblebee's eyes widened, then he smiled kindly before walking out.

Sideswipe wolf whistled as Sunstreaker chuckled.

Bumblebee ignored them and walked over to Fowler. The five then made their to the parking lot to their Autobot forms.

Once they were far enough, the holoforms disappeared and Fowler asked the question he had been wanting to ask ever since he stepped into the police station, "What the heck happened? And you owe me for bailing you four out."

"Well, it's a long story," Sideswipe began as Sunstreaker laughed nervously.

Earlier that day...

"Dude, she rejected you?" Sideswipe asked teasingly.

Bumblebee ignored him as he drove down the dirt road towards the city.

"She did, didn't she!" Sunstreaker answered, clearly enjoying this.

The yellow muscle car didn't respond, only sped up to increase the distance between him and the three Autobots behind him.

"Bumblebee, don't you think it was a little too soon, my friend?" Mirage asked in his adopted Italian accent.

Ever since he had seen a video online about Italian sports cars and then scanned a red super car; he had adopted an Italian accent. It hadn't taken long to become extremely annoying, with Arcee threatening to rip his voice modulator like Megatron had done to the Autobot scout. Mirage, unafraid, found he liked his accent and the affect it had on the others. He especially found pleasure when Ironhide and Ratchet stared at him blankly as they tried to decipher his word.

He also claimed that the ladies loved it; although none of the female Autobots paid him any attention.

The yellow scout didn't reply and only accelerated. The others followed him at a more leisurely pace.

"I knew she had a thing for Smokescreen!" Sunstreaker exclaimed almost giddily.

"Really?" Mirage asked sarcastically, "Do you really think starting a fight between he and Bumblebee is the smartest thing to do right now?"

"But it'll be fun!" Sideswipe protested.

"For you maybe," Mirage pointed out, "But not for the poor soul who has to deal with one of Bumblebee's few scattered meltdowns. Plus, Ratchet will extinguish your spark in a slow painful way if either one of them gets so much of a dent."

"You're taking the fun out of everything, Mirage," Sideswipe whined.

"You're supposed to be one of us," Sunstreaker added.

"I like a good prank every now and then, but even I understand not to get on the bad side of a Autobot who's advances have been spurned," the red Autobot answered wisely.

The twins fell into a silence, probably trying to find some other idiotic way to be entertained.

Mirage sped up slightly until he was next to Bumblebee, "Bee, I'm sure she'll come around. A handsome mech like you doesn't come around often."

Unfortunately his joking fell on deaf ears, with the usually talkative and animated yellow muscle car remained eerily quiet.

Mirage sighed, this was going to be a very long day.

It was exactly four hours later when he realized just how right he was.

Prowl would have been proud with his calculations.

After dropping off Bumblebee's charge at his house in the evening, Sideswipe suggested they take a drive to relax before heading back. Mirage could sense that the twins were planning more than just a drive, but Bumblebee seemed inclined to postpone his return to the base. He clearly didn't see the underlinings of a plot enacted by the twins at the time, and didn't see a problem with letting out a bit of steam.

And the red Autobot had no choice but to follow.

After driving around the city for about an hour, Sideswipe suddenly called out, "Let's stop here!"

The other three halted and Mirage asked curiously, "Why?"

"This place is what the humans call a bar," Sunstreaker explained, "Let's go in."

"That doesn't explain anything!" Mirage protested but at this point he was interested to see what the twins were up to.

"Come on, Bee is upset and this place is a great place to unwind!" Sunstreaker stated.

"For humans," Mirage pointed out.

"You said you didn't want Bee getting into a fight with Smokescreen," Sideswipe pointed out, "Instead, he can take out his anger on a human!"

This time Bumblebee beeped a hard, cold message, _Absolutely not._

Mirage felt relieved, maybe he'd be able to get out of this mess without visiting the evil medic. Once a day was too many for him.

"We'll go as our holoforms and just watch the humans get drunk and fight," Sunstreaker assured, "No humans will be harmed in our fun."

Bee seemed to be considering this offer, and Mirage had the nagging feeling that the rejection was affecting his friend's judgment immensely.

"Bumblebee, you seem upset," the red Autobot began, "Perhaps it would be better..."

But the scout ignored him and changed into his holoform.

"Yeah!" the twins yelled, "Cool!"

Mirage turned into his human form and sighed as he followed them into the bar.

They found a spot to sit at one of the tables, with the twins glancing around excitedly, probably looking around to cause some trouble.

It didn't take long for them to find it.

A group of five big, burly guys walked in.

Immediately, the bar went silent. The waiters quickly moved away to allow for the five men to pass through, the manager was looking sour but he also appeared to have little choice in the matter Everyone else in the bar glanced quickly over at the five men, but when they noticed the fierce looks in their faces, they diverted their eyes elsewhere.

The five men did a quick scan of the room, as if looking for someone stupid enough to challenge their authority in this place.

It didn't take long for them to seek out the only people in the bar who didn't avert their eyes from them.

The Autobots.

The leader of the gang, who was surprisingly smaller than the other two, narrowed his eyes. He made his way to the table where Sideswipe and Sunstreaker were eyeballing him with those annoying smirks they were famous for.

Mirage slapped a hand on his forehead, "This isn't going to end well."

"Lighten up, Mirage," Sideswipe admonished as he began to raise his eyebrows challengingly towards the ringleader of the gang.

"Yeah, you're usually the fun one," Sunstreaker commented as he waved the five men over.

"Stop encouraging them to come over!" Mirage hissed, "Prime will have our afts for this. And even if he doesn't, we have two medics and at least two senior officers who would just love seeing us squirm. And after that, they'll entertain themselves as they kill us slowly for getting into such a ridiculous situation!"

The twins scoffed and resumed their blatant attempts at irritating the group standing across the room from them.

Mirage sighed and turned to his friend, "Bee, you can't just let them carry on like this."

Bumblebee shrugged and replied, _Let them do what they want._

His friend responded, "Look, I know you're angry. But I'd rather not have Ratchet and his crazy girlfriend of a medic turn me into scrap metal."

The now human scout turned towards Mirage and told him coolly, _Then leave._

Mirage scoffed, "And then get blamed for not stopping you fraggers? I think I'll postpone the destruction of my paint job for a while longer. I'll prolong the inevitable."

_And so will I_, Bumblebee replied surprisingly calmly before turning towards the twins, _And it looks like they're about to get what they wanted. _

"What are you...?" Mirage began until he saw the five men from before looming over their table, "Frag."

He glared viciously at the twins who looked like they had hit the jackpot.

"What are you staring at?" one of the men, a dark haired man who was taller than the rest, demanded roughly.

Sideswipe studied him for a second before smiling mischievously, "Who do you think genius?"

"We staring at the ugliness that is your figure," Sunstreaker replied boldly.

Mirage slapped a hand to his forehead.

Bumblebee merely focused his optics on the men and remained quiet.

One of the leader's henchman stepped forward brandishing a fist, but the boss held him back and smirked, "Let the newbies talk; they'll learn some respect soon enough."

Sunstreaker scoffed, "Why the frag would we demean ourselves to respect you?"

"We're everything you wish you could be!" Sideswipe added as he gestured to himself.

Mirage had given up hoping for an escape at that point; instead, he decided to at least entertain himself as they were digging their grave. At least he could live his final moments in laughter before Ratchet and Red Alert used their wrenches (which Mirage was positive that they given the other as gifts) to beat him to death.

He leaned back and watched the show; he noticed that the rest of the crowd were doing the same.

The boss looked irritated, "Cocky, what makes you think you guys are such hotshots."

"Yeah!" his friends agreed.

"Take a look at us, my friend," Mirage stated smirking, "And then take a look at yourselves."

The boss's eyes narrowed; but even he couldn't deny the difference.

With their holoforms, the four Autobots looked like they belonged on the cover a sports magazine and on a male model runway. Even sitting down it was clear the four were tall and very muscular; enough to make every female in the crowd to stare and every male in the bar look extremely jealous.

The group of men facing them were all average height and if Mirage had to guess it, barely could sport a two pack than what the humans called a six pack.

Sideswipe and Sunstreaker snickered.

Mirage flexed his holographic muscles and flipped his hair, "Face it, you're a short, gross guy who surrounds himself with idiots in a poor attempt at looking intimidating. You think walking in like you own the place will make people respect and fear you?"

He then stood up and leaned over to the leader of the group, "Well, guess what? You failed. You couldn't even scare us if you brought in thirty of the brainless fools who follow you around."

"Burn," Sideswipe muttered as he high-fived his brother.

Mirage smiled with a deadly gleam in his eyes, "And if I were you, which thank whatever is good in this universe that I'm not, I would move your aft out of this bar."

Sideswipe and Sunstreaker threw Mirage pleading looks, sending a message through the radio, What are you doing? He's going to walk away!

_That's the idea_, Mirage responded irritated, _Maybe then we can get out of this mess with a few __laughs and without having to say our final goodbyes. _

_ You're no fun, _the twins protested simultaneously.

Mirage raised a hand to silence them before turning back to the thugs, who were now eying Bumblebee curiously.

Mirage definitely didn't like that look.

"Hey, how come the punk over there won't say anything," the boss gestured with his thumb towards Bumblebee, who ignored him and kept his eyes glued to the table.

"Leave him alone," Mirage ordered.

"You're not even worthy to be in our presence," Sunstreaker interjected quickly, noticing that the situation could escalate farther than he'd wanted.

"Yeah, so kindly remove yourself before we do," Sideswipe warned.

Unfortunately, the leader of the gang noticed their quick glances over at their silent friend. His frown turned into a smirk, as if he realized how to take down the Autobots with a single move.

He wasn't that off the mark.

"Why don't you stop defending the mute," he questioned with an evil grin.

Bumblebee kept his head down, but his fists were clenched.

One of the thugs moved forward and leaned over Bumblebee, "What's wrong with you?"

The Autobot scout didn't answer him.

The man grew angry, "Look at me when I'm talking to you, you stupid..."

When the scout didn't answer, the man shoved Bumblebee back into a wall. The scout crashed against the wall and crumpled to the floor. Everyone else in the bar gasped and tried to move in closer to check up on the Autobot scout.

Immediately, the other three Autobots were up. The twins looked furious, and Mirage's fists clenched.

Nobody messed with their friend.

Bumblebee stood up as if nothing happened. He glanced up at the gang leader as he sent a message to the others, _Let's get out of here._

_ Too late, _Sideswipe responded.

_They went to far this time_, his brother agreed, _It's time we kick their afts to Cybertron._

Mirage only nodded, it was too late to back out now.

And besides, these thugs were asking for it.

"You messed with the wrong guys," Sideswipe warned.

"And why's that?" one of the thugs asked foolishly.

"Because we're you're worst nightmare," Sunstreaker answered as he popped his shoulders back, a human practice when they were stretching their shoulders.

The leader laughed, "Please, what can you do?"

"Punch me and find out," Mirage offered.

"I'd much rather beat on this silent weakling," the thug grinned.

That was the last straw; but before Mirage could punch the thug, someone beat him to it.

As the leader flew back into a table, Mirage glanced over to his side.

Bumblebee looked determined as he pulled his fist in and stood up.

"Why you little punk!" one of the other thugs yelled as he charged.

Mirage turned to the twins, "Well, you got your wish."

They grinned widely before slamming into a thug who tried to use his weight to knock them over.

"Let's get this over with," Mirage muttered as he sidestepped around a thug and grabbed his leg to toss him over his shoulder.

…

"So, let me get this straight. You walked into a bar, Bumblebee threw the first punch at some thugs. And then the police came and picked you guys up," Fowler summarized.

"Great story, right?" Sunstreaker asked excitedly.

"Bumblebee threw the first punch?" Fowler questioned again, not quite believing that the normally sweet scout would be the first one to resort to violence.

The scout was silent as the other twin defended, "Hey, they left him no choice."

"Perhaps it would have been best to just walk away," Mirage offered, "But then Bee's honor was insulted; I feel that our friend deserved some retribution."

"But what if you had exposed yourselves!" Fowler pointed out indignantly.

"Eh, the humans will probably find out soon enough," Sideswipe responded.

"Somehow I think Optimus won't take that answer," Sunstreaker ventured to point out at his brother.

"You think?" Mirage questioned sarcastically, "If he doesn't kill us, the medics will."

"Good, you deserve that kind of punishment," Fower grinned.

He could practically hear the frowns in the twins' voices as they pleaded, "Don't tell them, please! We'll be good, we promise!"

"How times have we heard that before," Mirage commented.

"Shut up, Mirage, you're in trouble too," Sunstreaker pointed out.

The rest of the trip was spent trying to lay the blame on the others while Bumblebee retained his eery silence throughout the journey.

…

"You fragging idiots!" Ratchet boomed, "What the heck were you thinking!"

The four said idiots were standing in front of the medic as he fumed.

"Ratchet, don't you think you should heal them first?" Red Alert offered, though she looked as irritated as he was.

Her answer was Ratchet slamming his wrench into Sideswipe's head.

"Ow!" he yelped as he rubbed the spot.

Sunstreaker barely had time to laugh before the wrench was coming down on him like an ax.

"Ow!" Sunstreaker howled in pain.

Ratchet seemed satisfied for the moment, and he turned to Mirage. He eyed the red Autobot as he tapped the wrench on his other servo, "Well, what do you have to say about yourself."

Mirage sighed, "Just don't ruin the paint job."

"No promises," Ratchet hissed as he swung his wrench like a baseball bat into Mirage's shoulder.

The red Autobot grabbed his shoulder and hissed curses under his breath, "Fragger of a medic, should have just walked away..."

Ratchet smirked, "Don't you think this is over."

He then glanced at Bumblebee and his expression softened, "Red Alert, take the other three and run diagnostics on them for any injuries. I'll be there in a minute."

The female medic nodded before ushering the other three out.

Bumblebee kept his optics on the floor as Ratchet approached him, "I know you threw the first punch, Bee."

_Aren't you going to punish me then?_ Bumblebee questioned, the bitterness clear through his message.

Ratchet sighed, "Optimus will still give you his lecture when he gets back, but you won't have to worry about the wrench this time."

The Autobot scout nodded before turning to leave.

"Oh, and Bumblebee," Ratchet called out.

The yellow Autobot turned around slowly.

"She just needs some time, I'm sure she'll come around soon," Ratchet offered awkwardly.

Bumblebee seemed unsure about that, but he nodded and made his way to his home.

Ratchet felt a presence behind him, "I didn't think matchmaking was one of your many talents, Ratchet."

He smiled as the female medic wrapped her servos around his arm, "Well, if I didn't at least try to fix their problem, the two of them would probably end up driving me crazy with stunts like today."

"Indeed," she agreed.

She took his servo in hers, "Come on, I saved tending to their injuries so we could heal them together."

Ratchet smirked, "Do you have your wrench with you? I think we'll be needing it when we handle those four fools."

She patted her hip where her wrench hung like a weapon, "Always."

"Then it's a date," he responded.

She smiled, "So we're ending their guys' night by injuring them?"

"With the greatest pleasure possible for an Autobot to have," the male medic replied.

…...

Well, I hoped you enjoyed this one-shot.

I will have a second part with girls' night and what happens back at the base as they wait for the group to return. Also, I will resolve the conflict from chapter 4.

Please review!


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I don't own _Transformers_ or _Transformers_ _Prime_.

Note: Here's another one shot. This follow four years after the end of Predacon Rising, so spoiler alert for those who haven't seen the movie. I hope you guys enjoy!

Enjoy!

Please review! I'll try to respond to your reviews as soon as I can!

…...

Chapter 9: Even Jaded Doctors Can Plan Surprises

On a sunny morning with the air cool and comfortable, with the blistering heat not yet making its appearance, an emergency vehicle was cruising down a dusty road through the small town of Jasper, Nevada. To anyone, it was a normal site; nothing to be curious or interested by. Unbeknownst to the people the car passed, this was no ordinary ambulatory vehicle.

It was the Autobot chief medic Ratchet who spent his days watching over the humans the Autobots had befriended over their stay on Earth.

In fact, at that moment, Ratchet was driving one of those humans to the nearby university just outside Jasper.

Sixteen year old Rafael Esquivel had in the past four years accomplished what would have been astounding for a mere teenager. Having graduated high school in two years with Miko, who was three years older than he was, he had already spent two years working on his masters in computer engineering at the only university located in the small city. So talented and accomplished was the boy that several of the best colleges in the world were vying for his enrollment in their institutions. Instead, he decided to stay local and close to his friends and Ratchet. Ratchet couldn't understand the boy's decision to study in Jasper. Ratchet had tried to convince the boy that he could just ground bridge him to and back everyday . The chief medic had argued that a person with Raf's skills deserved to attend the best institutions the planet offered. Ratchet even went as far to say that Raf deserved to attend the best Cybertronian schools had they not been destroyed during the war. Ratchet even claimed that Rafael was the greatest mind this planet had seen and certainly would have been among the elite on his home planet.

Rafael was so flattered with the Autobot's approval, the Autobot who had become his mentor and what seemed like the only constant in his life, that he had to keep himself from weeping in front of the Autobot medic. But the young fourteen year old told the medic that the could never leave his family and friends; he belonged here in Jasper.

Ratchet finally conceded to his decision, though in truth he didn't seem too upset that Raf had decided to stay. In fact, Ratchet was the one who insisted on watching over Rafael as the young boy studied at the college.

Whether it was driving the boy to his school, helping him with his homework, or making sure he was eating; Ratchet had become an even bigger influence in Rafael's life than before. He'd become a sort of surrogate father to the young human, finding more and more things to help and watch over the boy.

Which was why Ratchet was planning something extra special for the teen today.

The young teen was turning sixteen that day, but had opted to forgo any special celebration today. This had been the boy's wish for his last three birthdays.

Usually, he insisted on just spending the day brushing up on Cybertronian and Ratchet was always happy to comply preferring to avoid parties and music, especially when Miko was involved. The day was treated as any other day. Towards the end of the day, Bumblebee would comm the boy to wish him a happy birthday which was probably the only part of the day that Rafael really seemed happy.

Ratchet had, of course, noticed. But at first he let it go.

In the last four years, the boy had pushed himself harder than anyone else.

And it hadn't gone unnoticed by any of the group. He started spending less and less time with Jack and Miko and more with Ratchet to improve his skills. He hardly ever went out for any fun, and Ratchet had overheard Miko and Jack saying that Rafael hadn't tried dating either and wasn't making any new friends at school. Miko noted that all Raf ever did was work all day. She joked he was becoming like Ratchet or worse, Prowl.

That was enough for Ratchet to get involved.

He may or may not have hacked the school cameras to watch Raf. But he would take that secret to his grave.

The Autobot medic noticed that, practically every minute of the day, Rafael was spending studying or at the base working on computers and his mastery of the Cybertronian language.

The boy was, as Miko would put it, a workaholic.

Ratchet had then interrogated Jack and Miko about it, and all they had to say was that his family was telling Raf to cool it too but the boy was persistent.

Miko had offered, "Maybe he just wants to finish early so he can join us agents!"

Ratchet shook his head, "No, that's not it."

Jack was the one to answer wisely, "He hasn't been the same since Bumblebee left with the others."

"Yeah," Miko agreed, "He did lose his best friend, Jack."

Ratchet's optics lit up, "A ha!"

Miko and Jack glanced up worriedly, "Ratchet, are you okay?"

"Of course, why wouldn't I be?" Ratchet asked absently.

"Because you're smiling," Miko answered stepping back cautiously.

The medic waved her off, "Never mind this nonsense, I have work to do and don't want you underfoot. Now shoo!."

And that was why the medic seemed in a specially secretive and good mood today as he drove Rafael to school. But luckily, he was a pretty good actor.

"Rafael, did you make sure to eat breakfast this morning?" the medic questioned knowing the boy often forgot.

Raf scratched the back of his neck as he said sheepishly, "I was in such a rush that I forgot."

"Then it's a good thing I though ahead," Ratchet said sternly as he popped the dashboard open.

Inside was a bag of bagels and orange juice, Raf smiled warmly, "Thanks, Ratchet."

The young boy frowned, "No coffee?"

"No coffee," the medic echoed, "It's not good for you. You're still growing."

Indeed, the boy had shot up in the last year, growing a full foot and was beginning to grow some muscle from the training Jack and Miko gave him on the weekends. In fact, Ratchet predicted the boy would be as tall as Jack when fully mature. Raf had smiled brightly the whole day; being short had been a sore point when he was younger.

Raf sighed, "I know."

"I wish Miko would be that understanding," Ratchet muttered as Raf laughed.

The young boy eyed the bag's contents again, "Ratchet, why is there two of everything in here? You already know I can't eat that much."

"It's not for you," Ratchet said easily, "It's for that pretty girl whose class you tutor, Maria was her name?"

The young boy blushed and spluttered, "How did you know about that?"

In his haste he nearly dropped the bag.

"Watch it, Rafael! That's breakable glass and I would really rather not have orange juice and glass all over you and me! I cannot abide a mess, especially a sticky one!" Ratchet reprimanded, "I expect this kind of behavior from Miko, not you."

"Sorry," the teenager said quickly as he held the bag more tightly.

"Forgiven," the medic replied as he made a turn.

"How did you find out about Maria?" Rafael asked again, this time more timidly.

"Miko and Jack saw her to talking to you and Miko, being the person that she is, introduced herself to Maria," Ratchet lied.

Miko had done no such thing, Ratchet had watched Raf talking to the girl one day and had later hacked into the school files to find out her name.

"Miko," Raf muttered annoyed that his friend had interfered.

Ratchet almost felt guilty about getting Miko in trouble, almost. But Rafael couldn't know about his spying and he needed to help the kid out.

The spying wasn't so he could interfere with Raf's life, he just wanted to make sure the Decepticons weren't up to their old tricks again and trying to hurt the Autobots' human friends.

Okay, he did want to interfere, but only because the teenager was turning into a human version of Prowl and no one needed two of them in their lives. Prowl was even worse than Ratchet, and the medic didn't want Rafael to turn into either of them. Well, Rafael was allowed to become a less bitter version of Ratchet. Plus, at least Ratchet had a girlfriend. Red Alert and he might have a long distance relationship, but that was better than Prowl who, according to Ironhide if he was to be believed, hadn't left his office to relax since Optimus's sacrifice three years ago. Ironhide was probably exaggerating, but he probably wasn't that far off the mark.

"I thought maybe you could arrange a study date as you humans call it," Ratchet offered.

Rafael eyed his friend warily, "Ratchet, are you matchmaking?"

"Of course not, it was Jack's idea," he said quickly, "But it wouldn't hurt if you relaxed every now and then," the medic argued.

"Like you," Raf pointed out.

"I've practically been on extended leave for the last four years, Rafael," Ratchet argued.

"Fine," the teen conceded, "Thanks for the concern, but no, I'm not interested. I have a lot of work to get done if I want to finish and become an agent when I turn eighteen."

The medic wanted to argue, but decided to be patient for once.

Changing the topic, Raf asked, "So, I'll see you later then?"

"No, I'm afraid I won't be able to make it," Ratchet said, "I got a call from Cybertron and I need to space bridge there for today."

Raf''s eye widened, remembering the last time Ratchet left it didn't end well, "Is something wrong again?"

With surprising gentleness that Ratchet reserved only for Raf, "Not to worry, Rafael. They merely want me to look at a piece of machinery to make sure it is viable for powering their new base."

The boy relaxed, "Okay, then. Say hi to Bee for me, Ratchet."

"I will," Ratchet promised, "You're okay on your own then today?"

"Yeah," Raf nodded, "I'll get a ride from Jack or Miko."

_No you won't_, Ratchet noted almost gleefully, key word on _almost_.

They reached the university and Raf waved Ratchet goodbye before entering the school.

Ratchet then sped off to the Autobot base where he spent most of his days.

….

A couple hours later, and a black and yellow muscle car was tearing across the dirt roads of Jasper, Nevada.

"_This place hasn't changed at all,_" he noted.

"_Of course it hasn't, you've only been away for three Earth years_," Ratchet snapped through the comm.

"_I know, I know_," Bumblebee chuckled.

"_You're going to be late_," Ratchet grumbled.

"_Careful, Ratchet, you sound like you care about Raf_," the yellow and black Autobot joked.

"_Rafael will worry if no one shows up_," Ratchet pointed out.

"_Don't worry, I'm the fastest thing on wheels this planet has seen_," Bumblebee boasted, "I'm never late."

"_Your voice has made you as arrogant as Knockout_," Arcee cut into the comm, "_If I wanted an arrogant prick, I would have partnered up with him_."

"_But you said you love my voice_!" Bumblebee protested, "_You said it makes me sound hot_."

"_Bumblebee_!" she reprimanded before shutting off her comm link.

"_I did not need to hear that_," Ratchet managed.

"Anyways," Bumblebee said quickly, "Thanks for doing this for Raf. He'll really appreciate the gesture."

"_I just thought the boy deserved this_," Ratchet answered gruffly.

"_You care about him_," Bumblebee said gently, "_It's okay to admit it_."

There was a silence on the other end before the medic spoke.

"_Fine_," Ratchet admitted, "_I'll admit that I've grown rather fond of the boy. His intelligence and mastery of the Cybertronian language alone are admirable, but he's a good kid too. It's been pleasant working with him_."

"_I knew you had a spark in there doc_," Bumblebee remarked happily, "_I guess there had to have been something Red Alert sees in you._"

"_Utter a word of this and you can say goodbye to your voice box again_," Ratchet warned, but they both knew he would never do such a thing; Ratchet had to much of a soft spot for the Autobot scout.

"_I promise_," Bumblebee said anyway, "_I would hate to get on your bad side, Ratchet. I've seen what you do to your victims_."

"_And don't you forget it_," Ratchet returned.

"_And Raf will figure it out on his own_," Bumblebee commented, "_You did say he was a genius_."

Ratchet didn't answer at that and Bumblebee let him have a moment of silence as he neared the school.

By that time Bumblebee was pulling into the parking lot of the university where Ratchet usually picked up Raf, "_I don't see him yet_."

"_He's probably talking to his teacher_," Ratchet offered.

Bumblebee parked and waited for his old charge.

His gaze caught onto a pretty girl, "_I see Raf's little crush, she's cute! I so have to tease Raf about this_."

"_If I wanted Rafael to be humiliated and teased I would have sent the twins to do it_," the medic reprimanded.

_"Right, right,"_ the scout assured, "_I won't say anything too bad, I promise_."

He heard Ratchet sigh.

Bumblebee turned his attention to the girl who was now talking to a tall boy with spiked brown hair and glasses, "_Is that Raf_?"

He sent a picture to Ratchet who scoffed, "_Well, who else would it be_?"

"_It's just he's gotten so big_," Bumblebee managed.

"_They grow up so fast_," Ratchet said sadly, _"like_ _the blink of an optic_."

_"Yeah,"_ Bumblebee agreed, "_Wait, he's coming this way! See you later at the base_."

He cut off the connection before conjuring his holoform.

He stuck the blonde head of his holographic form and waved, "Hey, Raf! Need a ride?"

Raf was busy talking to Maria when his head snapped towards the voice. His eyes caught onto the smiling blonde teenager inside a black and yellow muscle car. A familiar yellow and black muscle car; one that Raf would recognize anywhere.

Raf's eyes widened as he mouthed, "Bee?"

Bumblebee grinned widely, "The one and only!"

"Who?" Maria interrupted politely.

The brown haired boy turned back to her and said quickly, "That's just his nickname, he's my best friend."

"Oh? How come I never see him around?" Maria asked curiously as she glanced over at Bumblebee who waved at the two.

"He moved away and I haven't seen him in a while," Raf answered a smile growing on his face.

Maria smiled, "That's nice of him to drop by."

"It is," Raf smiled warmly, "It's a long way from where he's staying."

"Well, I won't keep him waiting," she said kindly before kissing him on the cheek, "Thanks for the tutoring, you saved my butt in physics!"

The teenage boy reddened, "No problem!"

"Bye! See you later," she called as she walked away, "And have fun!"

"Thanks, I will. Bye!" Raf managed before running towards his friend.

She gave him one last smile before running into one of the buildings.

Before he could even say anything, Bumblebee beat him to it, "Smooth, Raf. When are you going to ask her out? Or are you already dating?"

Raf groaned, "Bee! Did Miko tell you?"

"No, Ratchet did," Bumblebee replied before adding, "How does Miko know Maria?"

His old human charge seemed confused before he seemed to come to an understanding, "Never mind."

"Anyways, happy birthday, buddy," Bumblebee said as he opened the door to the passenger seat, "Get in, we got a party waiting for you."

"Thanks, Bee," Raf replied before taking his place in the familiar black and yellow car.

He leaned back in the seat and sighed, "I missed you, Bee."

"I missed you too, Raf," Bumblebee replied.

They hadn't seen each other in two years with Bumblebee only returning before then for a suspected Decepticon sighting before having to leave again. Space bridging was still taxing and they only used it for absolute emergencies. That they made this exception meant a lot to Raf, and this was the best present he had ever gotten for his birthday.

As he relaxed into the familiar seat and smelled the familiar mixed scent of leather and the wax that Bumblebee loved using, he felt alive.

And suddenly, he flash-backed to four years earlier when he had first met this yellow and black muscle car. Before his eyes, he remembered seeing the old Autobot base and befriending these giants from another planet.

He remembered Bumblebee, the first being to ever listen to him; to understand him.

He felt like he was about to burst out of happiness, and felt himself get teary eyed.

"Bee, I..." he croaked.

"It's okay, Raf. I know," he said kindly.

Raf smiled softly as he wiped his eyes and removed his glasses.

Bumblebee turned into the road and sped down the road towards the Autobot military base.

Raf studied the base for a moment.

"Bee," Raf called out, "Ratchet planned this, didn't he?"

Bumblebee slowed down for a moment before saying, "Yeah, but you didn't hear it from me. And if you want what's best for you and me, don't let Ratchet know that you figured out he was spying on you. And before you ask how I know that, I'm a scout; I learned to read situations and Autobots and Decepticons alike."

Raf smiled, he had figured out about Ratchet's surveillance about the second it started. The Autobot medic was the one who had taught Raf not only how to hack, but also to be able to sense when someone else was tapping into the system. Really, it was surprising that Ratchet hadn't realized that Raf knew. But Raf wasn't about to say anything; he knew that Ratchet was just trying to look out for him. Since no harm was being done, and Ratchet was just prying into his study hours; Raf would stay quiet. Although, he might have a word about the medic's interference in his love life or lack thereof.

"Of course not, It'll be our secret," Raf agreed before leaning back into his seat, "So, want to play video games with me?"

"Sure, after everyone else wishes you a happy birthday," his friend replied.

"Everyone?" Raf asked surprised, "the other Autobots came too?"

"You didn't think they were going to let me be the only one to wish you a happy birthday?" Bumblebee asked, "Of course they all came. Those jealous Bots wouldn't even let me take one step on the space bridge alone. Well, except for Ultra Magnus and Prowl, they don't party."

"Wow," Raf felt flattered, "Ratchet really went all out."

"Don't tell him I said this," Bumblebee said quietly and then paused as if to check if Ratchet was listening.

"But Ratchet really cares about you, you're probably his favorite human," he said before joking, "and that's saying a lot."

Raf smiled again, "He's been like family to me, Bee. But still, all of this..."

"You deserve it, Raf," Bumblebee said gently, "I don't need a surveillance tape to know that you're overworking yourself. You look exhausted."

"I know," Raf admitted, "But I just have a lot of work to do."

"You're just a kid, live a little," his friend advised, "You'll have plenty of time to be an adult."

"I'll try," his human friend offered.

"You better try," Bumblebee threatened, "Ratchet is thinking of kidnapping you and hiding all your books on Cybertron over the entire summer."

Raf's eyes widened, "He wouldn't."

"This is Ratchet we're talking about," the Autobot scout warned, "Of course he would, Raf."

"All right, no work for the summer," Raf promised and made a mental note to promise Ratchet too.

"Great!" Bumblebee, "Now let's party!"

Later on, after Raf had been hugged and greeted by the Autobots and had opened his presents, he made his way over to Ratchet and hugged his leg.

"Thanks Ratchet, you're the best," he murmured to the Autobot medic.

Ratchet's optics softened, "You're welcome, Rafael."

The medic glanced up to see the affectionate glances coming his way. He glared at them.

"Whoever told him is dead," he promised before patting Raf on the head.

"It was Bumblebee!" the twins accused.

"No it wasn't!" the Autobot scout protested.

Ratchet focused his optics on Bumblebee, "Run."

…...

Note: Well, that was hard to write. I hope you enjoyed it. It's not my best chapter but I'll make up for it soon. I've got some good one shots coming up that people have been waiting for and a few new interesting ones to add.

It's good to be back!

Please review! I'll try to respond to your reviews from now on!

Update 1/22/14: I made a few adjustments and improvements to the story. I hope you guys enjoy the changes!


End file.
